#eatPERU
So for today's lunch we are eating at a place that has been recommended by my Aunt.
This is called La Picantería and basically you come here, you order a whole fish and
you have it prepared four different ways.
So apparently we're going to be getting soups, ceviche, some grilled fish skin and a few
other things so that should be pretty exciting.
I'm really looking forward to eating this.
And the cool thing is that they are letting us take a little sneak peak behind the kitchen
so let's go have a tour right now.
So the first part of our fish has arrived.
If you take a look down here you'll see that half of it was prepared as a ceviche.
So this is ceviche with rocoto which is like a hot red pepper, a little bit of seaweed
on here, we have our sweet potato, some red onions and aside from the ceviche this is
called Chicharrón.
And they basically took the skin of the fish and put it in a batter and fried it.
So I'm going to eat some fish skin right now.
And that looks good.
Oh wow.
Mmmmmm.
Never had fish skin like this before.
This is amazing.
This is so good.
Wow.
Honestly, I thought it was going to be kind of gross eating fish skin but it is almost
like eating fried chicken skin.
I don't know if that is weird for you but I like it.
And now it is time for Sam to try the ceviche.
Yes, you got to try the chicharron so that means I get for first dibs of the ceviche.
And look at the colors.
This looks amazing.
The colors look amazing.
There is like generous amount of onions and you can tell that there is the tiger's milk
here at the bottom.
Mmmmm.
We've now had cebiche in several countries and nothing beats Peruvian ceviche.
This is just the best.
I love Peruvian cebiche.
So sour, you've got like the tender taste of the fish and then the onions as a compliment.
It is just delicious.
Amaze-balls.
I can't wait to dig in.
That looks fabulous.
And before we even finished our ceviche and chicharrón check out this.
Our second dish has arrived.
More food.
Okay so this one is called Jalea Norteña.
And if you have a look here it is basically like these really thin strips of fish and
it has a yellow aji sauce.
Kind of like a yellow pepper.
We have some chives here, a bit of olive oil.
That sauce looks amazing.
It looks great.
Let me try this.
Oh la lah.
Are you getting this?
Mmmmmm.
Wow.
It is really nice.
Like the sauce they've used, kind of like a chili in an olive oil mixed together, see
if you can get a shot of that.
And it is really nice.
I've never had raw fish with olive oil before.
But I am a fan.
Mmmmmm.
Let's get a close-up of that.
Wow.
And then on the other side of this pan we have more of the chicharron more fried fish
skin, as well as a little bit of corn maize.
Is that the canchita?
Yeah, just prepared a different way.
I'm really enjoying this experience so far.
This is pretty cool.
Like they are not going to waste any part of this fish because I think next up we're
getting a soup.
So yeah, we should probably start eating a little faster.
You're going to be stuffed by the end of this meal.
And what are you doing now?
And I can't let any of that leche de tigre, the tiger's milk, go to waste.
Oh, so sour, so spicy.
I think this is the most sour tiger's milk I've ever had while ever having ceviche.
And there is still more left.
Keep working at it.
None of that will go to waste friends.
So let's just take a minute here to talk about this spicy canchita.
How good is it?
Yes, we love the spicy canchita.
It is basically the fried corn that is heavily salted.
But what makes this one unique at this particular restaurant is that I don't know if you can
see this but I'm going to try and pull it out.
But if you look at my hand here.
It has got chili.
Yes, it has got chilies.
This is the spiciest canchita we've ever had.
Like we were snacking on this before we got our beverages and we're like.
Urgh.
Parched.
We need our water.
But it is so good.
So yet another dish has arrived.
This one is called Calianotena.
If you take a look down here it is a fish that has been marinated in this sauce.
I'm not sure what it is made of but it has a beautiful color.
And under the fish you're going to find sweet potato and they also have yucca which is kind
of like this fibrous root that we don't really have in North America but it is delicious.
That is very Peruvian.
It is.
And on top we have some red onions and it looks wonderful.
So let's just dig in to this.
Look at that.
It is still steaming.
This is still piping hot.
I don't want to burn myself again on camera.
Mmmmm.
That is nice.
It is almost like a sweet glaze.
I really like that.
If you take a look here you can see it still has the fish skin on it.
And it is a little bit crispy.
So yeah, it is a really nice combination.
The fish is super super tender, it just melts in your mouth.
So let's try and get a bit of everything for this next bite.
Look at that.
Even yucca and kamote.
Sweet potato and fish.
Mmmmm.
That is real good.
So the food just keeps on coming.
You better believe it.
This is dish number four.
And if you take a look down here you'll see that we've got grilled fish and it has the
aji sauce and the sliced spring onions.
And it appears to be massive yucca wedges.
They are not even fries they are more like wedges.
So time to try that.
I'm going to take a little bit of the yucca wedge.
And I'm going to take a bit of the fish here.
Oh yeah.
It is just amazing.
Out of all of the fish we've tried I'd say that is the most tender.
And then you have the spiciness of the aji sauce.
And then the yucca chip as a complimentary ingredient as well.
This is just an amazing meal.
And I don't even think we're done yet.
Yeah, and let me just point out that this place has filled up so quickly.
There is no space left in the whole restaurant.
Everyone is eating here.
That is when you know it is good.
More food.
And now for the grand finale we have a fish soup which looks pretty good.
Let's take a look over here.
We've got the fishes head and I guess some bones.
We've got the tail.
So yeah, let's have some fish soup.
That's another first.
Let's pour it in.
Dish it up.
Dishing it up.
Would you like the fish eyeball Sam?
Oh yes, specialize reservation for me with that one.
Or the tail?
Which one do you think is tastier?
Let's see if I can fish it out.
I'm trying here.
I'm really trying.
Wow.
That is huge.
It is still attached.
Never mind.
It is your lucky day Sam.
You just get soup.
No tail.
So I do believe this is the final dish now.
The soup.
Wow.
How does it taste Sam?
It is sour, a bit salty and yeah you can taste that fish as well too.
It is the key ingredient.
Oh and spicy too.
Spicy.
Spicy soup.
So in terms of price point that was a 160 Soles.
And as of today that is exactly 50 US dollars.
So it was 25 dollars per person.
So it is not the cheapest meal but I would still say it is really good value considering
how much food we got.
Like I am beyond stuffed.
It is time to go home and just pass out on the couch.
Yeah, and we should also mention this is a very trendy place at the moment.